


Just A Girl and Her Dragon

by RunWithWolves



Series: 30 Days of Cupcake [26]
Category: Carmilla (Web Series)
Genre: Dragons, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-17
Updated: 2016-10-17
Packaged: 2018-08-23 02:15:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,341
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8309842
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RunWithWolves/pseuds/RunWithWolves
Summary: There's only one person who can match Laura and her dragon when they take to skies to fly between the skyscrapers. Unfortunately, that person is the hot, snarky mess that is Carmilla and she spends all of her time annoying Laura when they should be training. 
Fortunately, Carmilla's never been a morning person and Laura has taken it upon herself to go wake Carmilla and her dragon up.





	

**Author's Note:**

> i just needed to write a story with dragons. that's all. Then I got caught by the idea that is urban dragons. Just can't get it out of my head. dragons in cities!?! yes please!  
> plus, it was a good chance to practice description and setting.  
> LAST WEEK AHHHHHHHHHHH

While Laura wasn’t the biggest morning person, one benefit to waking up early was getting her one chance each day to annoy Carmilla before Carmilla or her dragon were awake enough to come up with a witty comeback. So, with the sun barely shining over the edges of the city, Laura was vaulting through her 96th floor window and onto the small ledge she called the dragon roost affixed outside it. 

“Wake-up sleepy head,” she said, gently stroking the hard golden scales on Mars’s snout. 

One of only two Class 5 dragons in the city, Mars was by far the largest and her father was always vaguely terrified that he was going to squish her accidentally one day. Mars snorted as her fingers reached behind his ears, flicking open an eye to look at her as smoke lazily started drifting from his nostrils. 

A fire dragon, the subdued glow that emanated from the soft scales on his belly began to increase in brightness as he woke up. Still, he flipped on his back and lifted his head. The tiny whining noise slipping from the dragon’s throat a clear indication that he wanted his chin scratched. 

She shook her head but smiled and gave in, letting her fingers trace the trail of golden scales turning into red before scratching hard at the deep red scales just below his mouth. As she scratched, he stretched and Laura ran a keen eye over his large body to check for any scrapes that she might have missed the day before. With his big body, thick tail, and powerful wings, Mars had the build of a classic dragon. It was only the glow, now bright enough to start sliding down his wings, that gave away his nature as a Class Five. 

Considering her father’s dragon was small enough to sit on his shoulder, he’d almost fainted when Laura had ridden home a massive dragon after The Binding. He’d had to sit down when they’d learned Mars was a Class Five. 

“Alright,” she said, removing her hand despite the whine, “I’ve got another long day of University and we’ve got training so unless you don’t want to go bother Carmilla and Kipling then we have to get-”

Mars was up on his feet and nudging her to get onto his neck before she could finish the sentence. Grinning, she clambered up and settled between the soft line of wing-like spikes on his back. They folded under her legs as she settled and then Mars was pushing off. 

Laura couldn’t help letting out a woot as he dove into a freefall before his wings snapped out, literally glowing with the embers of his fire. 

The glow glinted off the glass of skyscrapers around them. 

There were only a handful of other people out this early, flying to early morning jobs and leaving lots of room in the skylanes for Laura and Mars to indulge in a few barrel rolls as they went. His powerful muscles moved smoothly under her legs and the hard scales felt like a single smooth piece as the wind poured over them, sending her ponytail streaming out behind her. 

A few of the dragons looked up as they passed, always drawn to Mars’s size and glow. The smallest ones looked through windows where they dozed in bedrooms and sunny ledges. Bigger dragons curled up on small roosts attached to each apartment while others hung upside down like bats as their tails curled around hooks while they slept. Four legs or two. Wings or flightless. Multiple heads or just one. All getting ready to face the day.

People looked at them as well, most with friendliness but some made shivers run down Laura’s spine. 

Her father’s constant warnings about danger and dragons and old grudges ringing in her ears. 

Flying to Carmilla’s apartment was always a bit of a journey and Mars had to drop out of the skylanes as they approached the edge of Silas. Her father had chosen a 96th floor apartment purely because it matched up just above the lanes themselves. 

Carmilla lived down on the fifth floor of an apartment on the very edge of the city. 

She said it was fitting seeing as she had the ‘best Class 5 dragon in the city’. Mars almost blasted her. Of course, if anyone else had to have a Class 5 dragon it was Carmilla of all people. That meant Laura got to be treated to her sunny disposition during every dragon training class. 

Mars dropped lower and Laura could just make out Kipling’s tail as it poked from the busted balcony door, black scales with flowing blue flourishes falling off it that drifted in the light breeze. Even though Kipling was a little smaller than Mars, Laura still couldn’t believe that Carmilla let her in the apartment each night. She barely fit. 

Not that Carmilla had anyone else to complain about the tight squeeze. 

Or about Laura waking her up every morning. 

Mars dropped low, wings beating just enough to hover them outside of Carmilla’s one-room apartment, “Karnstein!” she shouted, “Time to rise and shine!”

There was a thump and Kipling’s tail retreated; the dragon’s head popped out of the hole. Eyes already bright and awake, she tilted her head to the side to let the blue spikes shine between her large black horns. Moments later, she shuffled her wings and looked back into the apartment, letting out a high pitched howl that was enough to have icy wind blowing over Laura’s face. 

Ice dragon. 

Her head disappeared as she turned a little more and Laura tried to hide her smile at how resistant Carmilla was to getting out of bed. Half the time, Kipling had to drag her out. As she turned, one of Kipling’s massive wing poked from the apartment.

Although smaller in body than Mars, Kipling’s wings were much larger and each of the ‘fingers’ of her wings was curved into a long black talon between the teal-blue wings. Shot through with veins of near ice. The wings tapered against her black body into a series of blue spikes that shot out over her tail. 

When they caught Mars’s glimmer, the icy blue seemed to come alive. 

Then Kipling shifted again and a tired Carmilla appeared from under one of her wings as the dragon’s head shoved her forward, careful to keep the pair of fangs in her mouth from grazing Carmilla. 

Thankfully, all of Mars’s teeth stayed in his mouth. Sure, they were the size of Laura’s hand but at least they were contained. 

“Must we always engage in this inane ritual?” Carmilla called, slumping against Kipling’s neck, “Only the real over-achievers rise with the sun, cupcake.”

Mars hovered a little closer to the girls as Laura said, “So what does that make you? You wouldn’t get up until dusk if I didn’t wake you.”

“Practical.” Carmilla deadpanned. 

“Lazy,” Laura shot back.

“Same thing,” Carmilla said. She stretched and Laura tried not to focus on the sliver of skin revealed. “You know,” she added, “If we’re going to keep doing this early morning thing, you could always stay the night. There’s not much in my apartment but I promise, I can keep things interesting.” She ended with a wink and a suggestive gesture. 

“Carmilla!” Laura shouted, unsure why she was shouting before wobbling as Mars abruptly dropped a foot when her legs squeezed his back. 

Carmilla was smirking, “Just an offer, cutie.”

“I am here,” Laura prayed that Carmilla would take her red cheeks as a result of Mars inner fire keeping things toasty, “Because as people bound to Class 5 dragons we have a certain responsibility and I will not have you tearing that down.”

“Not this again,” Carmilla groaned, “Seriously?”

Laura crossed her arms, “Seriously. I know that you have to act all cool and tough and disaffected with your black dragon so you just lurk around here like you don’t care about anything. But really, come on, we both know that you’re just sad and alone. Show a little backbone. You’re just miserable here.”

Kipling’s head went down as Carmilla’s face went hard, “Really? Really?” she spat, “Show a little backbone? That’s what you’re giving me? Cupcake. You don’t know the first thing about what it means to have backbone? You know how you don’t have your backbone forcibly ripped from your body? You keep a low profile.”

Mars growled low in his belly as Laura gripped at one of his neck spikes. 

Carmilla continued “We didn’t get this ‘super extra special’ dragons because of fate or destiny or some higher responsibility. We got them because of luck. We don’t owe the world anything. So the sooner you drop the idea that you’re Fire’s gift to humankind, the better off you’ll be.”

Laura bit her lip. Her eyes widened as she felt Mars prep to blast fire and she put a hand on his neck to stop the impulse. He growled again but quelled the fire, his glow burning bright. 

Then she dropped her gaze and said, “I never said that I was Fire’s gift to humankind.”

Carmilla snorted, “Well you act like it.”

There was a thump as one of Kipling’s wings landed on Carmilla’s head, burying her in blue wings. The dragon huffed, looking at Laura with something close to aggravation as Carmilla struggled to get free. Mars kept grumbling underneath her but Laura couldn’t help but giggle as she locked eyes with Kipling. 

With a light puff, the dragon sent a light snow shower to dance in the air around her. 

With Mars underneath her, they melted the moment they touched her skin. 

When Carmilla finally wrestled her way out from under the wing, her hair was disheveled and the remains of Laura’s anger was left to fight it out with how cute grumbling Carmilla was. 

Still, she lifted her chin and straightened her spine, “I’m not Fire’s gift. Not some chosen one or anything better than anyone else but, you’re still wrong.”

“Shocker,” Carmilla drawled, “You thinking I’m wrong.”

Laura pressed on, “We’re not chosen ones but we do hold a position of influence simply by the effect of our dragons or luck or whatever you want to call it. What we do reflects back because people are always watching what we do. People who like us and the people who don’t. They’re watching. And I’ll treat the position I’ve been given with respect because everyone deserves that. Them. Me.” she paused, “Even you.”

Carmilla froze until Kipling sneezed, a sudden tiny snowbank coating the apartment. 

Swearing, Carmilla leapt onto the dragon’s back to get her feet out of the snow. Laura rolled her eyes and nudged Mars closer, “Just a little.” She whispered then added, “No fire!” Mars had a tendency to go straight for ‘burn the world down’ when all she wanted was ‘roast marshmallows’. She sighed in thankfulness when he blew a soft warm breeze out, melting the snow. 

Meeting Carmilla’s gaze, Laura looked at her expectantly.

“Thank you, Laura,” Carmilla droned in a monotone voice. 

Laura nodded sharply, “You’re welcome.”

Leaning forward down Kipling’s neck, Carmilla’s face broke into a flirty grin, “So cupcake. Yet another fight and another make-up. Don’t suppose you want to take me up on my ongoing offer for passionately heated make-up sex. We might not ever get along but you just know we’d be good together. Unbunch that cute little brow of yours.”

“Carmilla!” Laura shouted again, the blush rushing back to her cheeks. “I have to go to class.”

“Then I will just sit here and think about you,” Carmilla said, “That cute bunched nose thing you do when you’re angry. Your pout. Your-”

“I am leaving!” Laura shouted, trying to get Mars to fly off.

Carmilla just laughed at her, “Fire and ice. You know, you want me.”

“I hate you,” Laura grumbled. Then she poked Mars in the neck, “And you’re not helping.”

“He just knows a good thing when we sees one,” Carmilla suggested, leaning even further forward, “When even your dragon thinks that you need to unwind, you know that it's seri-”

Her words tapered into a shout as Kipling dumped Carmilla off of her back and covered her with a wing again. Laura grinned at the dragon, “Thank you!”

Kipling chirped at her.

She tapped Mars lightly with her heels, trying to get him to go as Carmilla grumbled and flailed with the wings, “Giant useless lizard with no respect for personal- perfectly good flirtation going- just had to-”

Laura knew the feeling, “Go, please.” She said to Mars. 

He finally went but Laura had a feeling it had more to do with the look Kipling was giving him than Laura asking nicely.

#

When she got to training that afternoon, Laura learned that Carmilla had apparently used the morning to increase her array of flirty pick-up lines. 

So, when Mars singed the ends of her hair off, Laura didn’t quite have it in her to feel bad. 

“Whoops,” Laura said innocently, “Can’t handle the heat?”

It backfired.

“On the contrary,” Carmilla purred, “this just proves that I’m nothing if not fireproof. The rest of me,” she ran a hand down her torso and Laura couldn’t help following the action with her gaze, “Perfectly fine. I can handle anything you throw at me, cutie.”

Laura huffed. 

“Plus,” Carmilla added, “I’m literally smoking hot.”

She threw Laura a wink as Kipling leapt into the air, the fine grace of her body and wings curling through the skies in a beauty that was unmatched. 

Laura was left trying not to smile. 

The bad one-liners definitely weren’t cute and when Laura got Mars to shoot up into the sky, it definitely wasn’t because she had any interest in chasing Carmilla. It was just one of those coincidental things. The way the wind whipped through Carmilla’s dark hair and the dusting of ice making her glitter and the small smile she’d get when she flew had nothing to do with it.

**Author's Note:**

> I had planned on taking this a section farther but i got called into a meeting. ah well. still dragons!!!
> 
> Cupcakes, as we move into this last week, i can only say how amazed i remain by your supports. As tough as writing this much is, you make it feel all worth while. Thank you so much for your continued comments, kudos and [ tumblr flails ](http://ariabauer.tumblr.com/). Just thank you <3
> 
> This is the twenty-sixth story of '30 Days of Cupcake' where I'll be posting a unique Carmilla fanfic every weekday for 30 days. Stay stupendous. Aria.


End file.
